Shaft drive for internal-combustion engines and the like



S. RZEPELA SHAFT DRIVE FOR INTERNAL-COMBUSTION ENGINES AND THE LIKE Filed NOV. 9. 1948 Dec. 25, 1951 Patented Dec. 25, 1951 ffUNITl-:D STATES PATENT OFFICE SHAFT DRIVE FOR` INTERNAL-CORIBUSTION ENGINES AND THE LIKE stanley Rzepela, Philadelphia, Pa. Applicationmvembr 9, 194s, serial No. 59,104

drive shaft of an internal combustion engine' wherein said gear drive constitutes an eccentric type of connection between each engine piston and the drive shaft of the engine.

' VA further object of the invention is to provide Suchan eccentric type connection embodying an*v internally'toothed device as part of` an eccentrica type strap.

` With the above and other objects in view, as

will be presently'apparentjhe invention consists, v in generalof certain novel larrangements o'f 'de-f',

'20 in the` 'accompannying' tails and combinations of parts hereinafterfully described, illustrated drawings and" particularly claimed. l

YIn the accompanying drawings like characters indicate like parts in the several views, and: "Fig. A1 vis a'side elevation, partly in section, showing a portion Vof aninternal combustion enf gine embodying this invention, and

Eig. 2 is a section on the line 2-2 'of Fig.r 155-4* 'In the invention as here disclosed the main shaft drive is shown as applied to a' four cylinder engine but it is to be understood that such invenj tion -may be applied to an engine having any.

3 claims. (ci. 74-52I ball race. Seated in each open side of the member IB is a plate I8 having a peripheral ball race I9 and balls 2i) are'held between these two races.` These plates are held in place by a bolt I8a. Collars 2I are mounted on the shaft I2 at the oppo` site sides of the gear I4 and these collars lie in openings 22 formed in the plates I8. The collars 2I are of less diameter than the openings 22 so as to allow space for bearing balls 23. The col#- lars 2| are of such diameter and the ropenings 22 are so positioned that proper meshing rela#- tion is maintained between the gear teeth onthe gear I4 and'member I6. Other openings 24 vmay be provided in the plates I8 at different distances from the centers of said plates. lSince thecentersl of the openings 22 and 24 determine the axial position of the gear` I4V a proper spacing of vsaid openings from the periphery of a plate I 8 permits gears I4 having diierent numbers of teeth to be used, this enabling the gear ratio to be varied. Projecting radially from the member I6 is an arm 25 having on its end an eye 26 through( which the pin II passes. The shaft I2 is journalled in bearings 2'I form#- ing bushings in an engine frame shown in part at 28 and in one end of the shaft is formed a socket 29 for the usual starting crank `(not shown).

In operation from the position shown the shaft l2 is started in rotation by means of the starting crank. The gear I4 rotates with the shaft and number'of cylinders desired, the cylinders themselves being omitted from the drawings. j

In each` of the cylinders of such an enginel there is provided the usual piston I open at the bottomV and having `a vwrist pin II extending transverselyof the hollow portion of the piston;-

Th'rough'the engine extends a drive shaft *I 2; having ribs I3 extending therealong and forming splines.' i Fitted' on the shaft [I2 vbelow each piston I0 is an externally/ toothed gear I4 having a central opening I conforming in shape to the cross section of the spline provided on shaft I2, so thatl rotation ofA the gear I4 will cause rotationof the shaft I2.

with a' band of teeth I'I spaced centrally between theopen sides of the member I5. The teeth I,'I

mesh with the teethl of the gear I4, and the teeth of the gear I4 and member I6 arespirall disposed for smooth running.

v A circular hollow member I Ii sur-j' rounds Veach gear I4 and is providedinternally` acts. to swing the member I6 so that its centeris out of alinement with a line passing through the centers of the pin II and shaft I2. At the same time (considering the piston at the left of Fig. l) the piston I0 starts to move upwardly under the influence of the gear engagement. When the piston has reached the upper limit of its stroke the member I6, through inertia of movement, will swing past dead center and the piston I0 will actto carry the member I6 downwardly to rotate the gear I4 and thus actuate the shaft I2.

As above pointed out and illustrated in the drawings, the invention pertains more particularlyto Vinternal combustion engine assemblages, parts, such as the cylinders, timing controls, etc., being omitted as they are of the usual type, the drawings pertaining more particularly to the variations from the usual type of such assemblies,

As shown, the assembly operates on the well known four cycle characteristic, the four pistons shown in Fig. 1 each having the four stroke regimen of intake, compression, combustion andr scavenging succession, following the usual regi- 'f men practice. For instance, the showing of Fig. 2i!

presents the position of the two outer pistons of Fig. l, this showing the dead center position at the end of the intake or the combustion stroke, one of such end pistons presenting the end of the intake stroke while the other end piston presents the end of the combustion stroke. The two intermediate pistons of Fig. l present the dead center positions at the end of either of the compression or the scavenging strokes, respectively.

One fundamental distinction, however, is present here over the general structure of this type, viz.: in the general type the drive shaft is formed with crank Zones for the respective. pistons-the shaft being known as the crank shaft; in the present invention the drive shaft is free from said crank zones, the shaft having a constant axis continuous from end to end, theseveral pinions I4 which are mounted on the drive shaft having their axes alined with each other and Withthe drive shaft axis. Each pinion cooperates with the internally toothedring member I6 with which it is associated and which forms an element for the piston unit, each ring member having a Constant tooth engagement with its pinion, such engagement being maintained through the presence o f the pair. of plates I8 carried at opposite sides o f the ring member and eccentrically mountedr on the drive shaft. Since-each of the pair of plates is eccentrically mounted relative to the axis of its opening axially alined with the axis of the drive shaft, the plates will planet about such axis, and'since such plates are also concentric within thering members I6, said members must havetheir movements relative to the plate peripheries, vthus maintainingthe teeth of complemental ring members and. pinions in constant toothiensasement.

Alin practice, two successive rotations of the pis.- ton unit about the axis of the drive shaft present the regimen for; the four-cycle operation of the piston unit, the four successive strokes of the regimen each presenting a half revolution of the unit, the usual timing assembliesf-not shownbeing ,employed in the assemblage to produce the regular succession of strokes in proper timing relation between units, as with the crank shaft type of In fabricating the assembly, with the plates I3 loosened, thevmembers 4I6 of the two end .units may be swung to the Fig. 2 positions, and the pistonslowered into engagement withthe respective pinions; these activities will y,properly posi- ,tion the plates of these two units in proper alinement with the members I6 of the unit, permitting the plates to. be moved into their housed positions and secured in anchored relation by bolts 18a. The plates of the two inner units may then be given similar treatment, as by raising the pistons until the lower toothed zone `of the ring members ofthe inner units engage the lower teeth ,of the respective pinions, whereupon the plates I8 .are returned to position for anchoring; an alternative way would be to first position the end piston units, and then move the assembly through one stroke, thus raising the outer end units and lowering the inner units to the position o f Fig. 2 to thereafter complete theassembly.

.Considering a unit in service, and assuming the shaft is Ytraveling clopkwise in .Fie- 2, ,advanced theshaft causes member Iio. shift to .thersht in Fig. 2, thus changing the angularityofelernent 2 5, the internal teeth of thering members` advancing -from the left and raising. the piston through the 180 travel of the. upfstro1 .e the .two

istermeslntepistoostrarlieatlimugbmeewer- 4 ward stroke instead of upwardly, the internally toothed faces of the members moving about the pinions. The assembly is cranked by hand or otherwise until the normal working regimen has been developed, after which the assembly coninues operation similar to assemblies of the usual Ype- When the assembly is to be operated under different speed ratio conditions,j the pinions I4 yare removed, loosening platesfIa-to --permit substitution and re-anchoring. The Fig. 2 form `presents an intermediate ratio as in service, opening 24 .at the left providing for a larger pinion while opening 24 at the right presents a smaller pinion than that of Fig. 2; the former tends to v decrease Ithe length of the stroke, while the latter l tends to increase the stroke length above that shown by Fig. 2.

Although the invention has been described as relating to internal combustion engines, it is to be un derstocd that it could .Well -be employedin connection with air'compressors and thelikeand while there is herein shown-and described-the preferred v form thereof, modiiications and changes may be resorted to, such as will lfall within the scope of the subject matterezclai-med.

1. In internal-combustion engines of the ,four cycle type, wherein the several pistons are 4subjected to strokeregimens 'in normal succession for rotating the drive shaft of -the engine, and in combination, a piston and cylinder assemblage, a drive shaft common-to the-several pistons, said shaft-being free from crank formations, Vand means for operatively connecting the severalpistons individually with the drive shaft t0 VlQtate the latter by the applica tion ofthe regimens-of thefseveral pistons individually in 'predetermined succession onsuch shaft, ,said means comprising an annular member individual to and pivotally supported by each piston, said memberfbeing toothed internally to Vpresent the member Y,as van internally toothed gear, anda pinion for and individual to each .of. said annular ring members rwith -the pinions keyed to lthe drive shaft, said annular gear member and its pinion being relatively mounted for tooth-engagementasa piston unit, the pinions of therespective piston units being alined axially withone another and with vthe drive. shaft axis, ,each piston unit :D- viding itsfour-cycle regimen strokes in lsimilar order with the vtixriing of similar regimen strokes of the assembly of units individually diiferingas between neighbor uni ts, .ea ch annulargearmember including demountingmeans individual .to the member `for enabling adjustmentofthean.- gular timingirelation of a piston unit relativeto its neighbor .and for maintaining toothed .engagement of ring memberand pinion of the in dividual piston unit duringservice.

2. An assemblage as in claim 1 characterized in that the -demounting means for a piston unit comprises a pairvof circular plate closuresmounted on the ringmember in spacedaxial relation on opposite sides of the `unit pinion, v witheach plate carrying at least one circularopening for the passage of the drive shaft, said opening .be-

ing positioned in the plate eccentric tothe axis of. the ring member and alsohaving a hearing. relation betweenthe wallof saidopeningatlda sleeve carried by the drive axle to v therebylimt service .movementsof the platesof the pistonuoit to pirotalmovernents relativeV tov the .drvefshart axis and concurrently maintain toothed engagement between the pinion and the toothed zone of the ring member.

3. An assemblage as in claim 2 characterized in that each of the plates of the piston unit is equipped with a plurality of separate circular openings in spaced-apart relation about the face of the plate, each opening having its axis spaced a different distance radially from the plate axis, the opposite plate of the pair having its openings in matched relation to those of the rst plate to locate the respective opening axes as axially alined with respect to the direction of length of the drive shaft to thereby permit either matched opening of the pair of plates to be positioned in drive shaft relation to the drive shaft for cooperation therewith of a pinion of either of a se- REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,728,279 Ramsey Sept. 17, 1929 1,863,667 MirandaJ June 2l, 1932 1,867,981 Mudd July 19, 1932 2,460,428 OLeary Feb. 1, 1949 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 594,954 Great Britain Nov. 24, 1947 

